Brain Dancing Coach Trial Version 1.0 Readme File

BY CLICKING THE "I AGREE" BUTTON ON THE LICENSE AGREEMENT SCREEN THAT APPEARS WHEN YOU FIRST LAUNCH THE BRAIN DANCING COACH TRIAL VERSION, YOU ARE AGREEING TO USE THIS BRAIN DANCING COACH TRIAL SOFTWARE AT YOUR OWN RISK, AND WITH THE GUIDANCE OF YOUR PHYSICIAN OR PHYSICAL THERAPIST WHEN APPROPRIATE.

Here's a summary of what is contained in this file:

• BENEFITS
• LIMITED WARRANTY AND DISCLAIMER
• ACKNOWLEDGMENT
• INSTALLING STARTGEN
• STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS ON USING THE BRAIN DANCING COACH
  • Running an Action
  • Patterns
  • Defining a Pattern
  • Defining a Custom Action
  • Transferring Custom Actions to the registered version
  • Using the Creativity Coach
• TECHNICAL SUPPORT FOR REGISTERED USERS
• PURCHASING THE LICENSED VERSION

BENEFITS
The Brain Dancing Coach (BDC) software makes it practical to apply many of the ideas discussed in the book, Brain Dancing, by Patrick Magee. It does this by structuring activities (breathing, stretching and mind development) so as to minimize the number of decisions you must make. Decisions such as what to do, when to do it and for how long. This trial version contains a few of the stretching, breathing and mental muscle exercises included in the registered version. You can also define custom Actions to meet your particular needs.

There are so many demands on our attention when doing knowledge intensive work, that it is sometimes difficult to remember to take care of ourselves by taking short breaks throughout the day. When we do remember to take a break, it can be difficult, at least initially, to remember exactly how to structure the time for optimum benefit. Wouldn't it be great to have a coach available on demand to walk you through some carefully timed stretching and breathing exercises so that the only decision you need to make is to begin? You start BDC at the beginning of your day, and select one of the predefined work interval Patterns, or design your own. Once started, BDC beeps a couple of times periodically throughout the day to remind you to take a break. After beeping, it launches the break activity defined in the work interval Pattern, which walks you through the breathing or stretching exercise. Other actions are designed to help you optimize various mental processes: the visual memory enhancer develops your ability to think visually; the typing tutor is a simple yet effective way to improve your typing skills in just a couple minutes a day; the creativity coach contains 29 strategies for creatively solving problems and brainstorming issues.

The creativity coach is also available at any time to help you generate new ideas for creatively solving business problems that arise in your work.

This 30 day trial version gives you a chance to try the software before buying it. If you continue to use it after the 30 day trial period, you are required to register as explained in the registration section of this document. The registered version contains several additional highly useful actions. Copyright laws apply to both this trial version and the registered version , and the copyright holder retains all rights, with a few specific exceptions as stated below.

LIMITED WARRANTY AND DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY
THIS SOFTWARE AND ACCOMPANYING WRITTEN MATERIALS (INCLUDING INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE) ARE PROVIDES "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. FURTHER, BRAINDANCE.COM, DOES NOT WARRANT, GUARANTEE, OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS REGARDING THE USE, OR THE RESULTS OF USE, OF THE SOFTWARE OR WRITTEN MATERIALS IN TERMS OF CORRECTNESS, ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, CURRENTNESS, OR OTHERWISE. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE RESULTS AND PERFORMANCE OF THE SOFTWARE IS ASSUMED BY YOU. IF THE SOFTWARE OR WRITTEN MATERIALS ARE DEFECTIVE YOU, AND NOT BRAINDANCE.COM NOR ITS DISTRIBUTORS, DEALERS, EMPLOYEES, OR AGENTS, ASSUME THE ENTIRE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR, OR CORRECTION.

THE ABOVE IS THE ONLY WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, THAT IS MADE BY BRAINDANCE.COM, ON THIS BRAINDANCE.COM PRODUCT.

NO ORAL OR WRITTEN INFORMATION OR ADVICE GIVEN BY BRAINDANCE.COM, ITS DEALERS, DISTRIBUTORS, AGENTS OR EMPLOYEES SHALL CREATE A WARRANTY OR IN ANY WAY INCREASE THE SCOPE OF THIS WARRANTY AND YOU MAY NOT RELY ON ANY SUCH INFORMATION OR ADVICE. YOU MAY HAVE OTHER RIGHTS WHICH VARY FROM STATE TO STATE.

NEITHER BRAINDANCE.COM NOR ANYONE ELSE WHO HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN THE CREATION, PRODUCTION OR DELIVERY OF THIS PRODUCT SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, LOSS OF BUSINESS INFORMATION, AND THE LIKE) ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE SUCH PRODUCT EVEN IF BRAINDANCE.COM HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

THIS LIMITED WARRANTY SHALL BE GOVERNED AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
BY USING THE TRIAL VERSION OF THE BRAIN DANCING COACH, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ THIS LIMITED WARRANTY, UNDERSTAND IT, AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY ITS' TERMS AND CONDITIONS. YOU ALSO AGREE THAT THE LIMITED WARRANTY IS THE COMPLETE AND EXCLUSIVE STATEMENT OF AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE PARTIES AND SUPERSEDE ALL PROPOSALS OR PRIOR AGREEMENTS, ORAL OR WRITTEN, AND ANY OTHER COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN THE PARTIES RELATING TO THE SUBJECT MATTER OF THE LIMITED WARRANTY.

Use of this software is permitted only to the extent reasonably required to determine whether to purchase the software. After payment is made, use of this software is limited to use on only a single personal computer or workstation which is not used as a server. An additional payment is required for each use on another personal computer or workstation. Only a single copy may be made of this software solely for backup or archival purposes. The software may also be transferred to a single hard disk. Any use of this software in violation of the above is not licensed.

INSTALLING THE BRAIN DANCING COACH (BDC)
BDC will run on any version of Windows, with the possible exception of Windows 3.0. After downloading the self-extracting EXE file, run it from within Windows and it will guide you through the installation process.

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS

1. After installing, double-click the BDC trial version icon to launch the program.
2. Read through the license agreement, and click "I Agree" if you agree to these terms.
3. This should bring up what will be referred to from here on out as "the main screen".
4. RUNNING AN ACTION: Click on the "Actions" radio button if it is not already selected. You should see a list of Actions on the right side of the screen. Double-click the "Complete Breathing" Action to start it. The first screen that appears is called the "Reach for the Ceiling" stretch. You have the option of including this stretch at the beginning of any action.
5. After about 10 seconds, the "Reach" screen disappears and the "Complete Breathing" Action is launched. The header for each Action has been standardized for consistency:
   • The drop down list (which should read "Medium") is used to specify the pace at which the steps are performed.
   • The "Repeat" checkbox allows you repeat the action when it is completed.
   • The "Pause" button allows you to suspend the timer momentarily should the need arise. When clicked, the button changes to "Start", which you can then click to restart the timer.
6. Instructions appear on the left side of the screen and are checked off as they are performed. Visual images are provided on the right when appropriate, to help guide you through the activity. PLEASE CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN OR PHYSICAL THERAPIST WHEN APPROPRIATE, BEFORE PERFORMING ANY OF THE ACTIONS INCLUDED IN EITHER THE BRAIN DANCING COACH TRIAL VERSION OR THE REGISTERED VERSION. YOU MUST USE YOUR OWN JUDGEMENT IN DECIDING HOW TO ADAPT THESE ACTIVITIES TO YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES. IN OTHER WORDS, IF PERFORMING AN ACTIVITY CAUSES DISCOMFORT, EITHER CHANGE THE WAY YOU ARE DOING IT, OR DON'T DO IT. Remember the story: "Hey Doc, it hurts when I go like that." "Then don't go like that," replied the doctor.
7. Select the "Close" button to return to the main screen.
8. With the "Complete Breathing" action highlighted, select the "Edit" button below the Action list. At the bottom of the screen you see the checkbox that determines whether or not the "Reach for the Ceiling" stretch is launched before the action.
9. Select "Cancel" to return to the main screen.
10. STARTING A PATTERN: To see how to group these actions into a work interval Pattern, select the "Patterns" radio button. You should see 3 sample Patterns on the left (All Day, Morning, and Afternoon), and the corresponding actions on the right. The numbers that appear in [brackets] are how many minutes to wait before launching the specified action. To launch a Pattern, just highlight it and select the "Start" button at the top of the screen. When you do this, BDC minimizes itself until it is time for the first Action.
11. The "Override" box is used to temporarily override the time intervals for every action in the pattern. This saves you from having to edit every single action in cases where you want to complete a pattern in more or less time.
12. Once a pattern is started, you won't be able to access any other features in BDC (except the Creativity module via the "!" button in the upper right corner of the screen) until either the Pattern is completed or you select the "Stop" button. If you stop a Pattern mid-stream, you can restart it at any point by highlighting one of the pattern's Actions (with a single mouse click) before selecting "Start". This tells BDC to begin with that Action rather than the first one in the list for the Pattern.
13. ADDING A PATTERN: To create your own pattern, select the "Add" button below the list of Patterns. Enter a Pattern name and select "OK" to save it. This should return you to the main screen with the new pattern selected.
14. To add an action to the Pattern, select the "Add" button on the lower right side of the screen. Select an Action from the drop down list (you will learn how to add your own actions in the next section), and specify the number of minutes you want to work before launching this Action. Then click the "OK" button. Repeat this for as many Actions as you want to add.
15. Note that you can rearrange the order of the Actions by dragging and dropping them (click them once with left mouse button AND hold the mouse button down as you drag it to the new location). If no Action is highlighted when you add a new Action, it will be added to the end of the list. Otherwise it is inserted before whichever Action was highlighted when you selected the "Add" button". Patterns can also be rearranged using drag and drop.
16. ADDING A CUSTOM ACTION: Select the "Actions" radio button to display the Category/Action screen. Select the "Add" button below the Action list. Specify the category, name, description, and whether or not to "Reach" before beginning.
17. Select the "Add" button to add the first Step in this Action. Enter the instructions that you want to appear for this step, and how long you want the timer to give you to perform the step. Select "OK" to save the Step. Repeat for each step you want included in the Action. Note that the steps can be rearranged using drag and drop.
18. If you would like to define a more complex Action, you can write your own executable program and run it instead of defining Steps as described in the last instruction.
19. OPTIONS: Select the View Options menu items to display the Options dialog. Here you can enter an affirmation that you would like to appear on the "Reach for the Ceiling" screen. This allows you to review it while you are doing the stretch. You can also use this feature to help you build an anchor, so that the "Reach" stretch triggers a resourceful state of your choice each time it is run.
20. The checkbox at the bottom of the screen can be used to display a notes text box at the bottom of the main screen. On some occasions, it can be helpful to use this for jotting down quick reminders.
21. TRANSFERRING CUSTOM ACTIONS TO THE REGISTERED VERSION: The registered version has an "Import" option that will allow you to import any Actions and Patterns you define in the trial version.
22. USING THE CREATIVITY COACH: This module contains 29 strategies for creatively solving problems or just brainstorming issues. Each strategy contains an overview of techniques discussed more thoroughly in the Brain Dancing book (see http://BrainDance.com for more information.) The strategies are listed alphabetically, so if you would like to change the order in which they appear, place numbers at the beginning of the strategy title using via "Edit" button.

TECHNICAL SUPPORT FOR REGISTERED USERS
Limited technical support for the Brain Dancing Coach can be obtained by sending email to bdc@BrainDance.com

DISTRIBUTING
You are encouraged to pass a copy of this trial version of BDC along to your friends for evaluation. If you do so, you must provide them with the entire set of BDC files.

PURCHASING THE LICENSED VERSION
You may use the trial version of the Brain Dancing Coach for 30 days. If you would like to continue to use the Brain Dancing Coach after the 30 day trial period, you are required to purchase the licensed version. Click here to view the order form.